Little Known Facts

Ok so many people have asked me to post this about things that are different here in Jordan vs. the States.  Here are some little known facts that I thought you might enjoy!

1.     Water Day:  Each household has a water tank (or couple of tanks) on the roof.  That water tank is all the water that is used for doing dishes, laundry, taking a shower, toilets, etc.  The water tank is filled once a week (and I just learned for some twice….jealous!)  The water gets turned on all day and is constantly filling on your water day so that is the day to run the water!!  Laundry is done this day and long showers are taken.  The problem with this is if you run out of water before the next water day.  L You can pay for a truck to come and fill you water tank or you can just wait till water day, but depending on when you run out…..that can be quite gross!

2.     No dryers: Most households do not have a clothes dryer. L  We have a washing machine but you have to hang your clothes to dry.  There are clothes lines up on balconies and rooftops, but if it’s a cold and/or a rainy day your clothes take FOREVER to dry.  You can dry your clothes on the clothes rack inside, but it still takes some time for them to dry.  Not to mention if we happen to be having a dust storm.  If your clothes are hanging outside during that….can you say the word re-wash?

3.     Can I get it delivered?  McDonalds, Burger King and Pizza Hunt are some of the fast food restaurants here and guess what??  You can call in your order to all these places and they will deliver to your house!

4.     Smoking ok: Smoking is EVERYWHERE here!!!  It still throws me off to see ash trays on the tables at restaurants.  Personally I didn’t used to mind the smell of smoke, but now I absolutely detest it! 

5.     Everybody wants to be a cat: Cats are also EVERYWHERE here!  I can’t even tell you how many times I have been walking down the street and a cat will jump out of a garbage can because it was in there looking for food!  It’s crazy!  They are just everywhere here.  Jordan is like one huge version of Disney’s Aristocats!!  However, as one person put it, “would you rather see cats on the streets or rats?” 

6.     Work/School On Saturdays! The work/school week here for most is everyday except for Fridays.  Fridays there is no work and no school.  Most malls don’t open till about 2:00pm on Fridays.  Schools are either Sun-Thursday or Mon to Thursday with a spilt weekend. (no school Fridays and then back to school on Saturday and then no school again on Sunday.) 

7.     Was that a gunshot? When people are celebrating things like weddings, soccer games victories, etc you can pretty much expect to hear shot guns being fired.  It used to startle me, now I don’t even blink! J 

8.     Long life milk!  The cheapest and easiest milk to buy here is long life milk.  It’s not powered milk, it’s milk that is on the shelves of the grocery stores and I have no idea what they do it to make it "long life."  You store it in your cupboards till opening it and then put it in the refrigerator.  Well, I put one in the refrigerator before opening it so it’s cold.  I was not too sure about this when first arriving, but it taste pretty good.  I wouldn’t drink of glass of it but I do drink the rest that is in my cereal.  There is also fresh milk at the stores.  This is a little more expensive than long life milk and the expiration date is always 3 days from the day you buy it.

9.     Can’t leave a voice mail: I don’t think voice mail with cell phones even exists here.  No one has a voice mail box so if you call someone and don’t get an answer, you have to send a text. 

 10.Easter in May: Here is something I just recently learned.  The Orthodox Easter is celebrated here.  So while you all in the States will be celebrating Easter, March 30^th, I won’t be celebrating it till May 5^th.   This will allow you to buy things after your Easter and then send them to me for mine!  PS I like normal the jelly beans and peeps!  J. 

 11.Hooray for Hollywood! Pretty much all the movies released in the States are release here as well.  Sometimes at the same time they are released in the States, but sometimes later.  Lincoln and Les Mis have not come out here yet, but are suppose to soon so I’m looking forward to that.  The cost for going to the movies here is pretty much the same price that we pay in California.  When you buy your movie ticket, you pick your seat so it’s assigned seating which is fun.  And you can buy popcorn….normal OR caramel popcorn to snack on while watching your movie!  And of course all the other kind of movie snacks.